Fitness equipment (exercise devices) commonly become soiled during usage due to perspiration and other bodily secretions. When the equipment is shared by multiple persons, for example in a fitness center, it is desirable to spray a disinfectant/cleaning solution on affected portions of the equipment and then wipe off the solution and dissolved soil to clean the equipment between users. Many fitness centers provide spray bottles and hand towels for this purpose, but convenient placement of the bottles and towels can be problematic. Since multiple exercise devices can be scattered around a large room, placing bottles and towels in a central location (e.g., a freestanding cabinet or a wall shelf) is often unsatisfactory and inconvenient. Frequently, users will take the bottles and towels to their equipment for use before and/or after exercising, and tend to simply leave the bottles and towels on the floor by their equipment rather than returning them to the central location. Or, due to inconvenient bottle and towel placement, exercisers may choose not to use the disinfectant/cleaning solution at all. Thus, it is desirable to have a holder for both bottles and towels wherein the holder can be conveniently located at an exercise device.
A bottle and towel holder should require a minimum amount of space, should have a receptacle for preventing spilling of the bottle's contents, and should keep the bottle and towel off the floor where they might be in the way and create a safety hazard.
Combined spray bottle and paper towel holders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,920 (Baggett, 2001), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,563 (Presson, 2003), wherein disposable paper towels are on a roll that is mounted on the spray bottle. Presson also discloses a hook apparatus (92, FIG. 14) to allow the invention to be hung for storage, the hook apparatus having a J-shaped hook (93) for hanging, and a pair of probes (94) for clipping in a groove (96) formed circumferentially around a reservoir cylinder (30). It appears that Baggett's device would be stored on the floor or on a counter or shelf.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,959 (Gribbins et al., 2003) discloses a caddy for storing cleaning equipment comprising a free standing pole on a base, with a bottle holder cup (14) and a hook (15) separately and permanently attached to the pole.
Since a free standing holder can take up valuable floor space, and would be relatively expensive due to the pole and a base heavy enough to prevent tipping, it is deemed to be desirable to have a compact assembly of a bottle receptacle and towel hook that can be attached directly to a variety of support structures such as are already extant in an exercise room. At least some of the exercise equipment devices will be near a wall, so attachment of the holder to a wall is desirable. However, since most exercise devices are typically not near a wall, it is more desirable that the holder have supports that are attachable to a frame member of the device, wherein an available frame member (located where the attached holder will not interfere with the use of the subject device or adjacent devices) typically could be a bar (either rectangular or circular in cross section) that is upstanding (i.e., lying in a vertical plane) but may be vertical, horizontal, or at an angle between horizontal and vertical.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,637 (Robinson, 1999) discloses a coin cup holder for a toilet stall. The cup holder is a flat horizontal plate with a hole in it, and has a swivel hook hanging therefrom. The cup holder is affixed to a vertical frame that has a second separately attached coat hook extending therefrom, and the frame is bolted to a toilet stall wall.
Since exercise devices are generally portable/freestanding, and additionally to simplify installation without affecting the integrity of a device's frame member, it is desirable for the holder to be removably attached to the frame member in a way that is simple and effective, without the need for drilling holes and using mounting screws.
Two patent references disclose receptacle and hook combinations which are supported by hanging from a hook, but the hook hanging method is most suitable for hanging from a grate or fence (e.g., chain link fence), or perhaps a small cross section horizontal bar with a vertical surface below to maintain verticality of the hanging holder. The hook hanging method is not likely to hold a spray bottle and towel in place on an exercise device, especially if the exercise device can shake or vibrate during use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,360 (Gorosave, 1998) discloses a device for holding sports equipment and other items. A receptacle (23) and a hook (34) are separately attached to a support member (27) having a hook (28) at its upper end for hanging from a chain link fence or similar structure. U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,340 (Cameron, 2000) discloses a sports equipment storage rack having a receptacle (30) on a vertical backboard (24), and a hook (36) extending from the receptacle. Attachment means include a hanging hole (42) for hanging on a peg or hook, and/or securing straps (52), possibly made of plastic, either affixed to the backboard or looped through holes (not shown, see col. 5, lines 48-56). The straps each have a securing hook (54) for clipping/hooking onto a chain link fence or similar structure (see col. 5, lines 34-65).
US patent documents disclose a variety of methods for attaching receptacles (e.g., bottle holders) to vertical or horizontal members such as posts or bars. Although they are adjustable to various size and shape members, the disclosed attachment methods have limited capability of being adapted for attachment to otherwise-oriented members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,183 (McConnell et al., 1995) discloses a stroller accessory bar and drink holder. The bar has a separately attached hook (18, 20) and receptacle (22). The bar is generally horizontal and is removably attached to upstanding members of strollers, walkers, etc. by means of three sided resilient cushions (32) with straps (36, e.g., Velcro). Optional variations include semicircular snap members (112, 124, 202) or U-shaped members (202, 204), optionally also with straps (208). As seen in FIG. 1, it appears that an attachment means (14) can be angled to accommodate an upstanding bar that is angled outward from the vertical, but the angle's magnitude appears to be a fixed characteristic of the attachment means. As seen in FIGS. 3-5, varying attachment angles can also be accommodated by using a gimbaled receptacle such as the drink holder (22) which comprises an annular support (23) pivotally attached to a U-shaped support member (44).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,509 (LaPorte et al., 1995) discloses a combination beverage container and stereo holder. There is a round receptacle (22, 20) but no hook. The holder attaches to a round horizontal bar (40) of exercise equipment by wrapping attached hook and loop straps (24) around the bar such that the bar is strapped into an inverted V-shaped member (18) that is lined with a rubber gasket (19) for increased friction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,031 (Renfro, 2000) discloses a gun and beverage support system having a receptacle (44, 46) and a separate hook (60, 70) attached to a base (20). The base has two pairs of eyelets (22, 24) protruding from the back. An elastic strap (e.g., shock cord or bungee strap) is used to encircle a vertical structure (e.g., a tree) by hooking into selected eyelets, wherein an inner pair of eyelets is selected for a narrow tree trunk and a wider pair for a bigger tree trunk.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,436 (Foster, 1967) discloses a “coaster,” or beverage container holder, having a cup shaped member (receptacle) (11), but no hook. A tubular wall (12) is provided with two pairs of horizontally spaced apertures (15/16, 18/19) for a flexible linear member, e.g., a plastic beaded strip (17, 20), that is threaded through the apertures with both ends being on the outside to encircle a post (e.g., chair column 21) for securing the coaster to the post. Channels (24, 25) may be provided between paired apertures (e.g., between 15 and 16) to recess the flexible members into the inside surface of the receptacle. Alternatively, a vertical portion of the inner surface can be cut away (“tapered”)(FIGS. 3, 4).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,770 (Louthan, 1991) discloses a beverage container holder having an open receptacle (14, 16), but no hook. An upright body portion (12) is provided with a plurality of transverse, vertically spaced slots (28, 30, 32) and pairs of vertical, horizontally spaced slots (34, 36) between the horizontal slots so that any one or a pair of the several slots may receive elongated strap-like members (e.g., 42, 48) having hook-and-loop fabric securing material bonded thereto for embracing structural elements (e.g., 52, 54, 62, car window not shown) or each other and maintaining the beverage holder in an upright position on any one of a plurality of vertical and/or horizontal structural elements.
Finally, when attaching a receptacle and hook onto a member of an exercise device, the towel hook should protrude in a way that is convenient for towel hanging, regardless of where the member is located relative to adjacent walls and/or other equipment or structures. Thus it is desirable that the location of the hook relative to the point of attachment of the receptacle to the member should be adjustable. The relevant prior art as discussed hereinabove does not provide such adjustability.
It is apparent from the prior art that when straps are employed to removably attach a holder to a member, particularly round and/or relatively slippery coated members, slipping of the holder is an issue in the design. In many cases, the part of the holder that contacts the member has a resilient (e.g., rubber) contact surface, no doubt for this reason, especially since hook and loop fabric is generally not very slip-resistant itself. In the case of the gun and beverage support system, the shock cord is made of a resilient extensible material stretched between end hooks, so the strap may provide some slip resistance.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of the prior art in providing a combined bottle and towel holder that is a compact assembly that can be attached directly and easily to a variety of support structures such as are extant in an exercise room.
It is a further object that a bottle holding portion of the invention be an open topped receptacle suitable for holding a spray bottle, and a towel holding portion be a hook, preferably located conveniently on the side of the receptacle, more preferably movably located relative to the point of attachment of the receptacle to the support structure.
It is a further object that the holder be attachable to a frame member of equipment, wherein the frame member is a bar of no particular cross-sectional shape (e.g., rectangular or circular), is preferably upstanding (lying in a vertical plane) and is oriented vertically, horizontally or at an angle between horizontal and vertical. Preferably the holder is also attachable to a broad vertical surface such as a wall.
It is a further object to provide method and apparatus for preventing slippage of the holder when it is removably attached to a support member by a strap.